How to make Sri Lankan hoppers

I thought I’d have a crack at making hoppers, the delicious crepes that feature in Sri Lankan cuisine. How hard could it be?

Sri Lankan breakfast: a hopper with a fried egg in it

Ever had a Sri Lankan hopper? You’re never likely to forget ’em. To the uninitiated, they are a concave rice flour and coconut crêpe, crisp-shelled and light/spongy at the same time – not unlike a crumpet – with a distinctive fermented flavour; they’re the most marvellous accompaniment to the island nation’s fragrant, spicy food.

Not dissimilar, on reflection, to the turmeric-yellow banh xeo of Vietnam, hoppers are central to Sri Lankan cuisine, a glue that binds like flatbread to all sorts of foods. And there, on page 108 of Sydney chef O Tama Carey’s new cookbook Lanka Food, is the hopper in all its glory. How hard could it be? I hopped in, so to speak, completely ignoring the author’s preface: “Make sure to read the hopper story on page 102 before you attempt this because, although they seem simple, they can be hard to master. But they truly are worth the effort.”

Too late. By this stage I was mentally knee-deep in the hoppers I’d had a few years back at Carey’s Lankan Filling Station restaurant in Sydney, along with the deliciously titled “hot buttered cuttlefish”. I’d moved to a stage of food-induced irrationality. I’d thought that a rather sexy small-diameter Finnish cast iron/enamelled casserole would substitute for the dedicated hopper pan. This, it soon transpired, was a stupid idea. I’d also figured that with a blender with a milling function, I could make what the author calls “coarse” and “medium coarse” rice flour. This was an error too.

“At Lankan Filling Station we use three different grades [of rice flour] to make our hoppers so we grind our own,” it says up front in the book. “For the purposes of the hopper recipe in the book you will need to go hunting for a fine version and a medium coarse version. Health food shops are usually a good place to find this.” This actually contradicts the recipe, but anyway.

The first batch was like wet sand, a bricklayer’s mortar, and went straight to the compost. The second, ground finer – as fine as possible without creating too much heat with the blade – sort of worked in a small steel skillet with a film of butter. Sort of. And the third? With just one grade of McKenzie's Rice Flour from the supermarket? It fermented nicely and made a hopper-like crepe with curved edges, a qualified success. So if I can just get a hopper pan that works on induction, and the prescribed flours…

And that story you’re supposed to read first? I probably wouldn’t have attempted hoppers at all if I’d followed Carey’s advice. It’s a nightmare saga of not being quite ready to push the green button on hoppers in big numbers with customers already queuing outside. Made me sweat. But listen: Sri Lankan food is amazing. Cook at home with this book, please, but if you want hoppers… I can recommend a nice restaurant.